A Matter of Security

Posted on 25 Sep 2024 @ 9:44pm by Lieutenant JG Shay Mitchell & Commodore (Brevet) Harvey Geisler

1,178 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Bait and Switch
Location: Ready Room
Timeline: June 21, 2390 || 0630 hours

When Shay woke up, she planned to go about her normal routine. Spend an hour in the gym, grab some breakfast, then get in some training before her shift started. That was until her terminal alerted her of a waiting message from the Commodore directly asking her to report to his Ready Room before the start of Alpha Shift.

She'd opened and read that message thirty minutes ago, rushing around to get ready while so many things played through her mind. Mostly why she'd been summoned. Did this have something to do with reporting Karn for allowing the pirates to leave? Possibly, though, that had happened a while back. Was it something else entirely?

The young woman would know very soon as she was now standing outside Commodore Geisler's Ready Room. Shay took a deep and calming breath, trying her hardest to get her nerves under control, then reached out to tap the sensor that would activate the chime inside.

Behind the Ensign, a different set of turbolift doors to the bridge opened, allowing the Captain to exit with a fresh mug of Wilkins. The officer of the watch attempted to get up from the center seat, but Harvey waved him down. "You still have fifteen minutes, lieutenant," the Commodore explained.

He approached the ready room and found that Ensign Mitchell was already waiting for him outside. "I'm running a couple of minutes behind this morning," he said, slipping past the ensign and allowing his proximity to automatically open the doors. "Come on in."

His presence behind her caused the young woman to jump, but she quickly recovered and snapped to attention. "Sir," she greeted before following him inside where she resumed her formal stance. "You wished to see me?"

Harvey made a beeline for his desk but did not sit behind it. Instead, he took a sip of his coffee from the tall travel mug he carried, then set it on the desk. He remained standing as he looked at the stack of padds already waiting for him. "I have bad news for you, Ensign. Or good news, depending on your perspective."

"Oh?" The young woman found herself asking. "Did I do something wrong?"

The Commodore shook his head as he took a seat behind the desk. His left hand picked up the coffee mug while his right gestured for her to take a seat. "You've done nothing wrong. Fact is, Commander Di Pasquale is being reassigned to Gamma Command for a while to train several Search and Rescue units. She'll be here for another day or two, and she'll be borrowing some personnel and material for the duration of that. This, unfortunately, leaves me without a Chief of Security."

Hearing Camila was being transferred, even if it wasn't a permanent assignment, caught the young Ensign completely by surprise. Shay would definitely have to reach out. "I suppose that is a bit of a predicament. Do you want some suggestions on replacements? I mean, I think I can give some decent advice on that front, but Commander di Pasquale would be better for that."

"She gave me a suggestion," Harvey stated, gesturing again for the woman to take a seat, if only to have a moment to comprehend what was now transpiring. "She's recommended you for the position."

"Me?" The Ensign asked, unable to hide her shock as she somehow managed to sit down. "But... I don't understand. I'm so low in the operation of things. Not to mention my rank will have those expected to follow my orders raise an eyebrow."

"Rank can be adjusted," Harvey said, pulling out a small box that he had prepared the night before. "And don't look at this as something that's happening because of the sudden elevation in position. You've been with us for several years now, and you've seen the hell we go through. Frankly, as an ensign, you're overdue for LJG." He opened the box and slid it across the table.

Shay blinked. The surprises kept coming. She always had hopes of a promotion, and knew that it would come eventually, but this... this was big. "I... I don't know what to say," she admitted, finding herself rendered nearly speechless.

"You earned it, lieutenant," Harvey reiterated. "As for the billet of Chief of Security, I don't know whether to congratulate you or feel sorry for you. The department's getting expanded with survivors from these attacks, so I'm sure you're going to have a few hotheads down there. I hope you're ready for that."

"I... thank you. I deal with hotheads daily. Maybe not the ones that have lost it all and feel like they don't have much to lose, but I will deal with that as it happens," Shay said as she reached forward to take the hollow pip from the box. She rolled it in her fingers for a moment, then attached it to her collar next to the other. The young woman was still baffled that Camila had chosen her. "I will certainly do my best not to let you or Commander di Pasquale down."

"Keep in mind that this comes with bridge time," Harvey reminded her. "Get with the XO for the appropriate duty roster arrangements. We'll be here for a few days, so if you need holodeck time to get familiar with the console, let's do it. We should also schedule a couple bridge drills to make sure you're ready."

The young woman nodded her head. "I think that both of those ideas will do me well. I have faith in my ability to catch on, but it would be best not to do it on the fly. I will also get with Commander Reynolds as far as arrangements go once I've finished up here."

Harvey certainly agreed that learning a bridge console was not best conducted during a live crisis. "I don't have anything else for you at the moment, Miss Mitchell. Do you have any questions for me at this time?"

"Not at this time, sir, but if I do in the future, I hope that you or Commander Reynolds will be available to answer them for me."

"As a senior officer, my door is always open to you," the Commodore assured. "In fact, if there is a question or an issue, I expect you to ask and not keep it silent."

"Thank you for this opportunity. I plan to go see Commander di Pasquale after I go speak to Commander Reynolds to see if she has any advice to offer. It seems like I now have much to do and not a whole lot of time to do it in."

The Commodore smiled, nodded, and rose from his seat. As he extended his hand, he offered, "Once again, Lieutenant, congratulations. I'll let you get to it."

Shay rose to her feet and grasped his hand to shake it. "Thank you again, Commodore," she said, returning his smile. After a moment, she released his hand and made her way from his office to begin the next chapter of her career.

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